Hearing Him Die
by dpluver
Summary: Sam's POV of the accident. Set before MM. A little dark with a dash of hope.


**A little darker than my usual writing. After watching "Mystery Meat" today, I just _had_ to do it. Sam's POV. One-shot.**

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><p>It had been just an innocent dare. I wasn't expecting anything to actually <em>happen.<em>

It had seemed so easy.

"I've always wanted to go in there," Danny said, slipping on the jumpsuit I had given him. We took the sticker of his dad's face off of the front; that just looked ridiculous.

I had offered to do it, but since Danny was the son of ghost fighting parents, he offered to go first. If nothing had happened, then Tucker and I would have followed.

We were a bit queasy at first, but come on; we were dealing with a _ghost_ portal. How much stranger can you get? And it's not like any of the Fentons' experiments had ever worked before. The portal was probably just another gauzy showpiece to add the growing collection of failed Fenton inventions.

"Be careful," I had told him when he had fully zipped up his suit and was ready to venture inside. I was starting to regret suggesting that he go in; that thing did _not_ look safe.

"I'll be fine," he said, rolling his eyes as he stepped into the gateway of the portal.

Tucker and I took a few steps back, observing from a distance. As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as being able to hear hearts pounding, but I knew all of ours were definitely picking up the pace. I honestly felt silly, being so edgy like this, but I couldn't help it. In retrospect, I guess my gut was trying to warn me about what would happen next.

We watched Danny's hands brush against the inner wall of the portal. Everything seemed fine. Until there was a soft _ding_ of a button being pressed.

Nothing could have prepared any of us for what happened. There was a flash of blinding light, and Danny was trapped inside. Tucker and I threw ourselves under a nearby table for cover, but part of me was demanding to go after Danny, whose screams were now echoing throughout the lab.

It was the most chilling sound I had ever heard in my life.

"It's killing him!" I screamed, unable to keep my cool this time around. I tried to get up, but Tucker pulled me back, forcing me to stay put.

My entire body trembled for the duration of what I classified as an explosion. I gripped the table leg and closed my eyes, willing it to be over and begging for Danny to still be alive. Even when the flashing lights vanished and the screams faded away, I found great difficulty in even the smallest act of opening my eyes. When I did, a few tears dribbled down the side of my face. Tucker, who wasn't looking too great either, squeezed my shoulder comfortingly.

There were a few terse seconds where I kept my eyes locked on Tucker's, too scared to look around for Danny. Only when Tucker broke my gaze did my eyes follow his.

Lying on its back just a few feet from the swirling green light that was now the working Fenton portal, was a kid. But it wasn't Danny. Not _my_ Danny.

This kid's body was glowing. His hair was stark white, matching his boots and gloves, while the rest of his suit was black.

All was silent for quite some time. The only sounds were the occasional whimper coming from the figure by the portal.

"That can't be him," I finally whispered to Tucker. "That can't be Danny."

What happened? Had the portal explosion killed my best friend? Who was the figure moaning in pain over by the portal? Surely not a _ghost_? Danny always told us he didn't believe in their existence, despite his parents' claims otherwise.

The figure stirred. Tucker and I instinctively pulled back to the safety of the table; if this thing was a ghost, would it hurt us?

"What happened?" the figure murmured.

I gasped. I knew that voice. It belonged to Danny, I was sure of it.

"Sam, no!" Tucker tried pulling me back, but I was too quick for him this time. Proceeding with caution, I crawled over to the glowing figure that my mind was now trying to convince me was Danny. I came within two feet of it when its eyes blinked open. They weren't the baby blue hue that belonged to my best friend, but a striking green. I nearly stumbled in shock, but managed to catch myself in time.

"Sam?" he asked wearily, noticing me for the first time.

I stared back mutely. The voice was Danny's. The messy hairstyle was Danny's. And the suit, now that I thought about it, was exactly the inverse of the suit Danny had been wearing before the explosion.

"What?" he asked, trying to sit up. I numbly moved right next to him and gently forced him to remain where he was.

"Sam, what's wrong?" he asked, panic creeping into his voice. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I nodded slowly. At this, my friend's now-green eyes widened.

"What happened to me?" he asked, sounding more frantic this time. I tried to stop him from getting up, but my efforts were useless against Danny in panic mode.

He ran over to the mirror and gave a cry that I doubt I'll ever fully forget in my lifetime. Tucker and I watched as he ran his fingers through his snowy white hair and rubbed his eyes several times, as though this would coax the blue to return. Finally, he turned around to face us.

"I'm a…"

"Ghost," we finished for him, not quite believing it, but unable to offer any other explanation for his drastic change in appearance.

He stared back into the mirror. Danny may be the target of bullies and scrawny for a guy his age, but I'd never seen so much fear in those eyes than I did then.

Suddenly, Danny looked ready to faint. I ran over to catch him, just as he toppled over backwards, but my to my shock, he slipped right through my hands. His solid form returned just before he hit the floor, and two rings appeared around his waist. I watched in amazement as the rings travelled in two opposing directions: one up his body, the other down towards his feet. As they made their way along his body, the jeans and familiar red and white shirt returned. The end result was Danny back to his usual self: black hair, non-glowing skin, and normal human clothes.

He opened his eyes when the rings disappeared. They were blue again.

Relief flooded me as I pulled him close and hugged him. Five minutes ago, I thought the portal had killed my best friend. Now that he was back, I never wanted to let go.

"It was probably just temporary," Tucker said, also sounding immensely relieved.

Danny nodded slowly, but I noticed he was still frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"I just…feel different. Not like before."

"It's probably just an after effect of the explosion. Should we take you to a hospital?"

Danny shook his head vigorously. "I'll be fine, I think."

I hugged him again. I've never been more grateful for anything than that point in time, knowing that my best friend was still, in fact, alive.

Little did I know that that "temporary" persona would eventually return and go on to become one of the greatest heroes Amity Park has ever had.

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><p><strong>What'd you think? Should I just stick with my usual humor genre or branch out like this more often? Reviews (commentsconstructive criticism/etc.) are much appreciated :)**


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